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Native Dakotan Jeff Van Winkle sees a bright future for Huron

Though he grew up in southeast South Dakota, Jeff Van Winkle never imagined living in Huron. Now, he has no intention of leaving the community that he is now proud to call home. 

The same could be said for Jeff’s late-spouse Dr. Karl J. Blessinger, who came to Huron to accept a five-year contract as the pathologist and medical director of both the laboratory and blood bank at Huron Regional Medical Center. “He had no intention of staying,” Jeff admitted. “But then he met the people of this community, and fell in love with the region.” 

A beloved doctor who served as president of the board of directors of Huron Regional Medical Center as well as countless other area nonprofits, Dr. Karl passed away in 2016. Alongside Jeff, the couple have made a generous financial commitment in their will and estate to support the work of the Foundation “because Karl believed—as do I—that a healthy community is only possible with a hospital like HRMC in the community.” 

Jeff said that they always have had a particular interest in supporting young people in the region who wish to go into healthcare professions, from nurses to physical therapists to pathology and more.

“Our young people are our future—they will be the ones who will keep our community strong by getting an education and coming back to work at the hospital.”

“And,” he added, “when our future nurses and physicians move to—or back to—Huron, they’ll join a community that has been so open and welcoming to me since I’ve lived here. It really is a great place to call home, and will keep getting better and better too.”